The invention relates to antiperspirant compositions intended for topical application to human skin. In particular, it relates to antiperspirant compositions comprising an agent that is capable of ameliorating or controlling skin irritancy.
In many countries, civilised behaviour encourages people to take steps to prevent or control body odours or visible wet patches caused by sweating, particularly in the underarm or on clothing in the vicinity of the underarm. People in some countries prefer to control both sweat and odour, whereas in other countries control of odour alone is favoured.
The antiperspirant market is currently dominated by topically applied products based on aluminium or zirconium salts which are intended to prevent, or at least control, localised perspiration at the skin surface, particularly on the underarm. Such formulations can often simultaneously provide a perceived degree of deodorancy.
Deodorants are formulations that are designed either to mask malodour or to prevent or hinder its formation. The latter method usually comprises reducing and/or controlling the re-growth of the local micro-organism populations, or targeting preferentially those bacteria such as a sub-class of Coryne bacteria which contribute disproportionately to axillary odour generation, or interrupting the pathways by which malodours are formed from secretions. Aluminium or zirconium salts provide deodorancy benefits even at a level below the commonly accepted threshold for significant antiperspirancy to be observed.
Antiperspirant formulations are utilised in many applicator forms e.g. roll-ons, creams or soft solids, gels, firm sticks, aerosols and pump sprays. However all forms can suffer from a number of common disadvantages.
A principal disadvantage of many antiperspirants is that they contain one or more commonly employed ingredients which are perceptably unfriendly to human skin in those areas of the body to which the formulations are normally applied. Such ingredients include in particular the above-mentioned aluminium and zirconium salts, and the effect from those salts can be exacerbated by other ingredients that are usually employed because they demonstrate other attributes which are advantageous or otherwise render the formulation particularly effective. Such essential or otherwise highly desirable or desirable ingredients in aluminium or zirconium salt containing compositions include liquid carriers such as volatile silicones and ethanol, as well as a host of other ingredients commonly employed in such formulations such as fragrance ingredients and emulsifiers. Such ingredients are perceived to exhibit an adverse effect, in particular an irritant effect, on a user""s skin following application of the antiperspirant salt-containing formulation.
Skin unfriendliness can be tolerated, at least up to a certain extent which will vary from user to user, but it would be advantageous to identify means of reducing or eliminating the effect. Manifestly, irritation can be ameliorated by lowering the amount of the offending active ingredient in the formulation but a serious drawback of such an approach is that the efficacy of the ingredient is impaired.
It would be desirable to be able to create antiperspirant formulations which were effective and which do not irritate skin, and particularly desirable to provide formulations with a positive skin care benefit too.
It would be desirable to be able to devise antiperspirant formulations which continued to be effective for their primary purpose, that is to say continued to employ known antiperspirant actives displaying the same or similar activity levels, but in which adverse localised skin effects were ameliorated or overcome, and localised skin condition can be improved. The achievement of these outcomes at the same time requires the identification of materials which are not only effective for the secondary purpose but which are not unduly antagonistic towards the constituents which are incorporated to provide or deliver the antiperspirant active, and particularly to avoid or minimise interactions between said materials and said constituents during transportation and storage of formulations containing them.
Various patent specifications have disclosed the incorporation of emollients in antiperspirant formulations.
Many different classes of materials are contemplated within, or U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,332 or WO 00/28956. Emollients are usually regarded as constituents which are non-irritating and at least some of which can soften skin. However, there is no teaching that emollients as a class of materials act as PPAR activating agents, nor any teaching as to how to identify the limited number of emollients which by chance are named and which may be capable of so acting from the preponderant majority of emollients which are named and not capable of so acting.
Similarly, several patent specifications such as WO 98/58625 disclose formulations which are gelled with various gellants, without discussing whether or not they are capable of acting as PPAR activating agents, or indicating how to identify which, if any, of the gellants may be capable of acting as PPAR activating agents in amounts which are less than is required to gel the composition in which it is present, and which are not so capable.
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (abbreviated herein to PPAR) are transcription factors that control lipid metabolism. There are three isotypes PPARxcex1, PPARxcex2/xcex4 and PPARxcex3, all of which have been localised in the skin according to Riviers et al, in J. Invest. Dermatol. 111, 1116-1121 (1998). A range of specific fatty acids activates these factors, resulting in anti-inflammatory action, to reduce cutaneous irritation responses, and pro-differentiation/anti-proliferation responses to normalise skin metabolism and provide additional skin-care benefits. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,586 Pershadsingh teaches that PPAR ligands can reduce proliferation and inflammation in the skin. In PCT application WO-A-98/32444 Elias et al teaches that PPAR ligands can restore/prevent skin barrier dysfunction. In EP-A-888773 Malnoe et al describes the use of the PPAR activating lipid petroselinic acid in the treatment and prevention of inflammation in superficial tissues. Furthermore, in PCT application WO-A-99/47110, Alaluf et al teach the use of petroselinic acid or glycerides thereof to reduce skin irritation in a treatment for skin intended simultaneously to combat ageing and wrinkling, and also to provide skin lightening properties. In EP-A-709084, Laugier et al describes the use of coriander oil, rich in petroselinic acid, in a skin cosmetic composition for the moisturisation of dry skin. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,053, Chappell et al describe deodorant formulations containing inter alia coriander oil, to accomplish odour reduction, by reducing the population of both micrococci and diphtheroids and to mask any lingering androsterone compounds. In DE-A-19883808114, by Grillo Werke et al, there is described a deodorant for domestic, hygiene and industrial use which contains a zinc salt of ricinoleic acid and/or salts of other (un)saturated OH fatty acids with at least 17C. Similarly, deodorising compositions containing zinc ricinoleate are described in FR-A-2311529 to Dart Industries Inc. None of these specifications provide specific teaching in relation to antiperspirant formulations.
In PCT application WO-A-99/26597 (Parrott) teaches that borage oil can be included in an antiperspirant formulation to reduce irritation without reducing the antiperspirant activity, but Parrott does not teach how to locate alternative or improved solutions to the problem, nor how to improve general skin condition.
Although the art does teach the use of a few named emollients in certain skin-care products, research continues in the field to locate alternative or improved systems. The effect of each ingredient of a formulation should not be considered by itself. Its interaction with other ingredients should also be considered to obtain an overall picture. For example, acid neutralisation of antiperspirant actives can result in the de-activation of the antiperspirant active by complexation. Moreover such complexation results in concomitant abrogation of the functionality of the acid as well. Surprisingly, we have found that fatty acids capable of activating PPARs can be incorporated into an antiperspirant cosmetic composition and retain their functionality to produce a composition that has a reduced irritation potential and can also provide additional benefits for underarm skin.
In WO 01/45663 by L""Oreal, published June 2001, i.e. subsequent to the instant priority date, there are described the use of aromatic polycyclic compounds as activators of PPARs-type receptors in a cosmetic or pharmaceutical composition, but once again, there is no disclosure of antiperspirant compositions.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide antiperspirant formulations which ameliorate or overcome one or more of the disadvantages described hereinabove, and particularly skin irritation.
More specifically, it is an object of certain embodiments of the present invention to provide antiperspirant formulations in which skin unfriendliness can be ameliorated or eliminated whilst enabling active ingredients to be employed.
It is an object of particular embodiments of the present invention in which topically applied antiperspirant formulations are non irritating.
It is an object of selected embodiments of the present invention to provide topically applicable antiperspirant formulations which provide skin-care benefits in addition to ameliorating or overcoming skin irritancy.
According to the invention there is provided an antiperspirant cosmetic composition suitable for topical application to human skin, comprising:
i. an antiperspirant active comprising an astringent aluminium or zirconium salt;
ii. a carrier for the antiperspirant active; and
iii. either (a) a PPAR activating fatty acid other than at least 1% by weight of ricinoleic acid or linoleic acid,
or (b) a hydrolysable precursor of said fatty acid other than borage oil, castor oil or sunflower seed oil
in an effective amount that is insufficient to gel the composition by itself.
In a second and related aspect, the present invention also provides a method of reducing or eliminating skin irritancy arising from topical application of an antiperspirant cosmetic composition comprising an antiperspirant active comprising an astringent aluminium or zirconium salt and a carrier characterised by incorporating in the composition an effective amount of either (a) a PPAR activating fatty acid a) a PPAR activating fatty acid other than at least 1% by weight of ricinoleic acid or linoleic acid or (b) a hydrolysable precursor of a PPAR activating fatty acid other than borage oil, castor oil or sunflower seed oil that is insufficient to gel said composition.
Herein, the term PPAR activating fatty acid includes PPARxcex1, PPARxcex2/xcex4 and PPARxcex3 activating fatty acids. It will be recognised that many PPARxcex1 activating fatty acids are commonly also PPARxcex2/xcex4 and/or PPARxcex3 activating fatty acids.
By an effective amount of a PPAR activating fatty acid or precursor thereof is meant an amount which reduces skin irritancy caused by one or more of the ingredients in the base antiperspirant formulation.
Additional skin benefits can be provided too by employing the PPAR activating agent or precursor, in at least some embodiments.
In a third and related aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for reducing or eliminating body odour and/or controlling sweating comprising topically applying to chosen areas of human skin a composition comprising:
i. an antiperspirant active comprising an astringent aluminium or zirconium salt;
ii. a carrier for the antiperspirant active; and
iii. either a) a PPAR activating fatty acid other than at least 1% by weight of ricinoleic acid
or (b) a hydrolysable precursor of said fatty acid other than borage oil, castor oil or sunflower seed oil
in an effective amount that is insufficient to gel the composition by itself.
By the term antiperspirant composition is meant a composition containing an aluminium or zirconium salt that is capable of acting as an astringent, unless specified otherwise.
The invention comprises employing in antiperspirant formulations in which the antiperspirant active is dispensed in a carrier, an effective concentration of a PPAR activating fatty acid or hydrolysable precursor thereof.
One convenient reporter assay for determining whether a fatty acid material is PPARxcex1 activating is based upon the firefly luciferase gene. In such an assay, it is considered herein to be PPARxcex1 activating fatty acid if it produced at least a 1.5 times activation compared with the vehicle control, when administered at 100 xcexcM. More preferably, a PPARxcex1 activating ligand produces at least a 1.5 fold induction at 50 xcexcM; more preferably still at least a 1.5 fold induction at 25 xcexcM; and even more preferably at least a 1.5 fold induction at 10 xcexcM. Naturally, the ligands continue to induce when employed at a higher administration level.
We have found that it is not essential to provide the fatty acid in free form. Additionally or alternatively, the PPAR fatty acid can be incorporated into the formulation as a hydrolysable precursor, such as particularly a triglyceride or ester. This is especially convenient for underarm formulations, because of the presence of commensal skin bacteria in particularly high numbers in the underarm compared with general body areas. Such bacteria can hydrolyse triglycerides and esters efficiently on the skin and thereby release fatty acids; (Marples, R. Cur. Med. Res. Opin. 7, Suppl. 2, pp. 67-70 (1982)).
It is particularly desirable to select PPAR fatty acids or precursors thereof which are unsaturated, and especially those containing an hydroxyl and/or methyl side chain. Many such acids contain from 14 to 30 carbons.
Examples of PPAR fatty acids with demonstrated PPAR activating activity are:
Potential source of hydrolysable PPAR precursors include triglycerides such as coriander seed oil for petroselinic acid, impatiens balsimina seed oil, parinarium laurinarium kernel fat or sabastiana brasilinensis seed oil for cis-parinaric acid, dehydrated castor seed oil for conjugated linoleic acids, and aquilegia vulgaris oil for columbinic acid.
If a single hydrolysable precursor of a PPAR activating fatty acid is employed, it specifically excludes borage oil, castor oil and sunflower seed oil.
Desirably, the PPAR acid contains 16 or 18 carbon atoms. Most preferred PPAR acids are olefinically unsaturated, and especially preferably, comprise mono, di or tri unsaturation. Many most desirable PPAR activating acids are not only unsaturated, but also are C16 or C18 acids. An alternative PPAR acid (xvii) comprises 12-hydroxystearic acid, sometimes abbreviated to 12-HSA which is effective for the present purpose at a concentration below that which is needed to form a gelled formulation.
The proportion of fatty acid PPAR ligands in the invention is at least the minimum proportion which demonstrates a reduction of irritancy and/or improvement in skin condition, compared with the same composition in the absence of the PPAR ligand. As would be expected, such minimum proportion will not only vary from compound to compound but also will depend on whether the acid is employed in free form or introduced via its precursor. The minimum proportion can be determined by a patch test method described subsequently herein. In many formulations, the PPAR fatty acid or precursor is chosen in the range of from at least 0.025%, and preferably from 0.05% by weight, and in general not more than 20% by weight. In a number of preferred formulations, it is convenient to employ a concentration of PPAR fatty acid or precursor of at least 0.1% up to 5%, such as 0.2 to 1% by weight.
If desired, the PPAR acid or precursor can comprise any combination of two or more PPAR acids or precursors, provided that at least one of them satisfies the condition that it is either (a) a PPAR activating fatty acid other than at least 1% by weight of ricinoleic acid or linoleic acid or (b) a hydrolysable precursor of a PPAR activating fatty acid other than borage oil, castor oil or sunflower seed oil. The second PPAR acid or precursor can be selected from all PPAR acids and their precursors, including ricinoleic acid, linoleic acid castor oil, sunflower seed oil and borage oil. The weight ratio of constituents of such a combination of PPAR acids or precursors can often be chosen in the range of 5:1 to 1:5, such as from 3:1 to 1:3, and particularly at about 2:1, about 3:2, about 1:1, about 2:3 or about 1:2. Desirably, the combination comprises at least two PPAR acids selected from examples i) to xvii) hereinabove, or their glyceride precursor with the aforementioned weight ratios or within the ratio ranges of 5:1 and 1:5, and preferably 1:1.
Some preferred combinations comprise:
petroselinic acid and 12 HSA
petroselinic acid and
petroselinic acid and linoleic acid precursor (Sunflower oil and/or Borage oil)
petroselinic acid and pinolenic acid
petroselinic acid andand pinolenic acid precursor (pine nut oil)
petroselinic acid and cis parinaric acid
pinolenic acid and 12 HSA
pinolenic acid and linoleic acid
pinolenic acid and linolenic acid
12-HSA and linoleic acid
12-HSA and linolenic acid
cis parinaric acid and 12-HSA
cis parinaric acid and linoleic acid
cis parinaric acid and linolenic acid
cis parinaric acid and pinolenic acid
An antiperspirant composition according to the invention comprises an antiperspirant active which comprises an astringent aluminium or zirconium salt. The proportion of antiperspirant active present in the composition according to the invention may be from 1-35% by weight of the composition, preferably at least 5% by weight and more preferably 15-30% by weight of the base composition. A base composition herein excludes any propellant which may be employed.
Examples of suitable actives include aluminium salts, zirconium salts, aluminium and/or zirconium complexes, for example aluminium halides, aluminium hydroxy halides, zirconyl oxyhalides, zirconyl hydroxyhalides, and mixtures thereof. Specific examples include activated aluminium chlorohydrate, aluminium chlorohydrate, aluminium pentachlorohydrate and aluminium zirconium chlorohydrate. Useful zirconium salts include zirconium hydroxy-chloride and zirconium oxychloride. Other generally used actives will be known to those skilled in the art. Preferred actives include ZAG (Zirconium Aluminium Glycine), AAZG (Activated Aluminium Zirconium Glycine), and AACH (Activated Aluminium Chorohydrate). The antiperspirant active can be present in particulate form whereupon it is normally suspended in a suitable carrier fluid, which usually is water-immiscible, and which can be structured or thickened. Alternatively the active can be dissolved in a polar solution, such as for example in aqueous solution or in a polar low weight polyhydric alcohol such as propylene glycol, advantageously 30 to 60% by weight solution.
The compositions according to the present invention can also comprise 0.01 to 90% of a deodorant active. The deodorant active used in the cosmetics of the invention can be any deodorant active known in the art such as alcohols, in particular aliphatic monohydric alcohols such as ethanol or propanol, antimicrobial actives such as polyhexamethylene biguanides eg those available under the trade name Cosmocil(trademark) or chlorinated aromatics, eg triclosan available under the trade name Irgasan(trademark), non-microbiocidal deodorant actives such as triethylcitrate, bactericides and bacteriostatis. Yet other deodorant actives can include zinc salts such as zinc ricinoleate.
In some embodiments, the deodorant active comprises an aluminium and/or zirconium salt or complex as described hereinabove in relation to providing antiperspirancy, but at a concentration such as from 0.1 to 6% by weight which imparts deodorancy without always meeting national minimum standards for antiperspirancy.
The carrier material for the compositions according to the invention can comprise one or more of volatile carrier fluids, one or more of non-volatile emollients, and it can be structured or thickened by one or a combination of thickener and/or structurant materials if required. The carrier material, including, where relevant, carrier materials providing additional properties such as emolliency, can often comprise up to about 99 wt %, in many instances from 5 to 90 wt % and particularly from 10 to 70 wt % of the composition, or of the base composition, if mixed subsequently with a propellant. Where the composition comprises both hydrophylic and hydrophobic phases, the weight ratio of the two phases is often in the range of 10:1 to 1:10. Aerosol compositions according to the present invention can conveniently be obtained by introducing a base formulation as described herein that is free from propellant and at least 0.7 times and often 1.5 to 20 times its weight of propellant into a suitable aerosol dispenser.
The antiperspirant composition can comprise a mixture of particulate solids or a suspension of solids in a liquid medium, which can be thickened to reduce the rate of segregation, or structured to produce a cream (soft solid) or solid. Alternatively the composition can comprise a mixture of liquid constituents, including a solution of an active in a carrier, such a composition often adopting the form of an oil-in-water or water-in-oil emulsion, which may be thickened or gelled.
The carrier material, which may be a fluid or a mixture of fluids, is often selected according to the physical form of the cosmetic composition, e.g. volatile low viscosity silicones, low molecular weight hydrocarbons, alcohols and water, and can be selected by those skilled in the art to provide appropriate physical and sensory properties for the product. It will be understood that certain fluid alcohols such as in particular ethanol can constitute both a carrier and a deodorant active simultaneously, though advantageously formulations containing such a material also contain an additional deodorant and/or antiperspirant active.
Volatile silicones are usually selected from cyclic polysiloxanes containing from 3 to 8 dialkylsilicone groups, especially dimethylsilicone groups and particularly 4 or 5 dimethylsilicone groups. Other useful volatile silicones can comprise linear polysiloxanes, preferably containing 4 or 5 alkylsiloxane groups, including terminal groups. Low molecular weight liquid hydrocarbons can comprise paraffin oils. Suitable alcohols can comprise monohydric alcohols, such as C3 to C10 aliphatic alcohols, dihydric alcohols such as glycol or propylene glycol or polyhydric alcohols such as glycerol or sorbitol. Carrier materials can provide additional desirable properties, such as polyhydric alcohols for example glycerol can act as a moisturising agent and volatile cyclomethicones can act as emollients.
The non-volatile emollient, if used in the composition, may consist of a single emollient compound or a mixture of emollients. Such emollients often have a solubility parameter of below 10 and many of from 5.5 to 9. They can typically include saturated fatty acids and fatty alcohol esters, ethers containing aliphatic and a polyalkylene group, hydrocarbons, water insoluble ethers, mineral oils and polyorganosiloxanes, and mixtures thereof.
Non-volatile silicones are often polyalkylsiloxanes, polalkylarylsiloxanes or polyethersiloxanes having a viscosity of above 10 mPaxc2x7s, such as up to about 5xc3x97106 mPaxc2x7s at 25xc2x0 C., including polymethylphenylsiloxanes or dimethylpolyoxyalkylene ether copolymers.
Emollient aliphatic esters, often containing from about 12 to 25 carbons, and preferably one substituent containing a chain of at least 12 carbons. Examples include cetyl palmitate, butyl myristate, glyceryl stearate and propylene glycol monolaurate. The composition cam comprise a liquid aliphatic ether which can provide emolliency, such as ethers derived from polyalkyene glycols and a low weight (eg up to C6) alcohol, such as polypropylene glycol (10-15) butyl ether.
The total amount of emollient materials within the composition, excluding PPAR fatty acid and precursor thereof, is often within the range of from 1 to 70 wt %.
The thickening or structurant agent, when required, is selected according to the product form of the cosmetic composition. The thickening or structuring agent can be organic (monomeric or polymeric) or inorganic and is usually chosen depending on the physical nature of the liquid phase to be thickened or structured, such as whether it is hydrophobic or hydrophylic. The amount is normally selected in order to attain the desired viscosity for the liquid or cream or desired resistance to penetration of a solid containing the PPAR fatty acid or precursor thereof in accordance with the present invention.
The thickener or structurant can be any of a number of materials, including, for example, waxy structurants for a formulation containing a water-immiscible phase including hydrogenated vegetable oil, hydrogenated castor oil, fatty acids, such as 12-hydroxystearic acid (12-HSA), or ester or amide derivatives of such acids, beeswax, paraffin wax, microcrystalline waxes, silicone wax, and fatty alcohols, such as stearyl alcohol. The structurant can also be a fibre-forming gellant, of which 12-HSA is an example. Other examples include N-acyl amino acid amides and esters, including particularly GP-1 (N-Lauroyl-L-glutamic acid di-n-butylamide), lanosterol, combinations of a sterol and a sterol ester, such as especially xcex2-sitosterol and xcex3-oryzanol, a polyesterified cellobiose, especially with a C8 to C10 aliphatic acid, threitol esters or and selected secondary amides of di or tri basic carboxylic acids, (eg 2-dodecyl-N,Nxe2x80x2-dibutylsuccinimide) by themselves or in combination.
Polymeric materials for thickening include polymers such as polyamides, hydroxypropylcellulose, and natural or synthetic gums, such as polyglycerides including agar, agarose, pectin, or guars or mixtures or combinations thereof. One class of materials worthy of attention for thickening a water-immiscible phase comprises derivatives of hydrolysed starch or other polysaccharides, including in particular esterified dextrins, such as dextrin palmitate. A further class of polymers that is particularly directed to structuring an oil phase containing a silicone oil comprises polysiloxane elastomers. Suspending agents such as silicas or clays such as bentonite, montmorillonite or hectorite, including those available under the trademark Bentone can also be employed to thicken liquid compositions according to the invention. The composition can be thickened with non-polymeric organic gellants, including selected dibenzylidene alditols (eg dibenzylidene sorbitol).
The amount of structurant or thickening agent that can be employed in the invention compositions will depend upon the viscosity of a fluid formulation or extend of hardness of a solid formulation that the producer wishes to attain. The amount to be employed will in practice also vary depending on the chemical nature of the structurant or thickening agent. In many instances, the amount of structurant or thickening agent will be selected in the range of from 0.1 to 25 wt %, and particularly from 1 to 15 wt %.
The composition according to the invention can optionally comprise other ingredients, in addition to those already identified, depending on the nature and form of the finished product.
Other ingredients contemplated within the personal deodorant or antiperspirants art can also be included in the compositions according to the invention. These include, for example, surfactants/wash-off agents, fillers, fragrances, preservatives and colouring agents. Such ingredients and their amounts of use are usually selected according to the physical and chemical form of the cosmetic composition.
Surfactants can comprise optionally up to 15%, more commonly up to 5% by weight of the total product, and are particularly useful in formulating emulsion antiperspirant compositions, for example for use as pump spray or roll-on formulations. However for other product types, it is preferred that the composition contains less than about 8% by weight of surfactants. Non-ionic surfactants are particularly preferred. It is often convenient to select a mixture of surfactants, such as one having a comparatively high HLB value, eg 8 to 18, and one having a comparatively low HLB value, eg 2 to 8, which can be introduced in suitable relative proportions to attain an average HLB value of about 6 to 12.
Many suitable nonionic surfactants are selected from nonionic esters, ethers or amine oxides having an appropriate HLB value. Many preferred ionic surfactants comprise a polyoxyalkylene moiety, especially a polyoxyethylene moiety eg 2 to 80, especially 5 to 60 oxyethylene units, or possibly with a polyoxypropylene content, to provide hydrophilicity. Other moieties providing hydrophilicity include polyhydric alcohols such as sorbitol or glycerol. The hydrophobic moiety is commonly derived from aliphatic alcohols or acids or amines containing about 8 to 50 carbons and particularly 10 to 30 carbons. Examples of suitable nonionic surfactants include ceteareth-10 to -25, ceteth-10-25, steareth-10-25, and PEG-15-25 stearate or PEG-8 distearate. Other suitable examples include C10-C20 fatty acid mono, di or tri-glycerides. Further examples include C18-C22 fatty alcohol ethers of polyethylene oxides (8 to 12 EO).
Examples of surfactants which typically have a low HLB value, and often of from 2 to often comprise mono or possibly di-fatty acid esters of polyhydric alcohols such as glycerol, sorbitol, erythritol or trimethylolpropane, including cetyl, stearyl arachidyl and behenyl derivatives.
Fillers can comprise up to about 20%, more commonly up to 10% of the base composition and can act as supports for liquid ingredients. Suitable fillers include aluminium stearate, aluminium tri-stearate, calcium stearate, talc or finely divided polyethylene, an example of which is ACUMIST B18. The latter can also enhance skin feel properties.
Fragrances, when present, typically comprise up to about 4% of the total product and often from 0.1 to 1.5%. Colouring agents and preservatives can be added as desired.
Other optional ingredients are other cosmetic adjuncts conventionally employed or contemplated for employment in antiperspirant products.
The ingredients which can optionally be present in the composition carrier can conveniently form the balance of the composition.
Propellants commonly employable in aerosol compositions herein commonly comprise hydrocarbons or halohydrocarbons such as fluorohydrocarbons, having a boiling point of below 10xc2x0 C. and especially those with a boiling point below 0xc2x0 C. It is especially preferred to employ liquified hydrocarbon gasses, and especially C3 to C6 hydrocarbons, including propane, isopropane, butane, isobutane, pentane and isopentane and mixtures of two or more thereof. Preferred propellants are isobutane, isobutane/isopropane, isobutane/propane and mixtures of isopropane, isobutane and butane. Other or additional propellants include fluorinated low molecular weight hydrocarbons. Yet still other propellants can include volatile ethers or carbon dioxide.
The relative weight proportions of propellant and base composition is often selected at least 40:60 and particularly at least 60:40. The proportions in many embodiments are up to 99:1 and particularly up to 95:1. Commonly, proportions are selected in the range of at least 70:30 and in the same or other formulations the proportions are up to 90:10.
Compositions according to the invention can be provided in any form of a product suited to or adapted for topical application to human skin, and is usually contained in a suitable holder or dispenser to enable it to be applied to the selected area of the skin, particularly the underarm, where control of perspiration and/or deodorancy is desired.
Having described the invention in general terms, specific embodiments thereof will now be described in greater detail by way of example only.